


i just look at you like a fool

by towokuwusatsuwu



Series: Pride 2018: 30 Days of S.W.O.R.D. [13]
Category: HiGH&LOW: the Story of S.W.O.R.D. (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Introspection, M/M, Polyamory, Shyness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 18:12:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14939327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/towokuwusatsuwu/pseuds/towokuwusatsuwu
Summary: “Teamwork makes the dream work.” Koo’s lips quick up at the corners as he washes his hands, toweling them quickly dry. Kaito is slower at this, but he does notice when Koo steps up next to him again, fingers coming to touch the bottoms of his hair. “I love these waves on you.”The compliment is a small one but Kaito’s breathing trips just the same, his shoulders hunching just a little, unused to this from Koo. Most of the attention from Rocky and Koo is directed at Kizzy, which makes perfect sense considering her magnetism, how she is all-encompassing; Kaito has been dizzily in love with her for years, after all, had been willing to just up and leave Doubt to follow her lead, trusting that she knew what was right for both of them. He would have followed her anyway, and truth be told, he loves seeing her showered in affection.In contrast, Kaito is quiet, keeps to the background, lets Kizzy do the talking for him. He would let anyone do the talking for him if it meant he didn’t have to speak at all, to tell the truth, and he is content just to know Rocky and Koo care about him. He doesn’t need to be shown in a thousand small ways because he trusts their words and their intentions.





	i just look at you like a fool

“You’re still here.”

The voice startles Kaito out of his headspace, the glass in his hands slipping before he can catch it and plummeting toward the floor. In his head, it shatters and shards skitter across the tiled floor; the sound would be deafening. Instead, Koo catches the glass in one hand, tossing it up so he can catch it in the other, returning it to Kaito’s numb fingers. He’s close, closer than Kaito expects him to be, close enough that Kaito wonders how he managed to miss the scent of Koo’s cologne or the intense creeping sensation that always comes when Koo stares at him.

He remembers Koo’s observation and nods, quick jerky shakes of his head, before turning back to the sink of glasses he is still in the process of rinsing out. The person who normally did this at the end of the night needed to go home, having spent an hour in the bathroom throwing up before anyone noticed, and Kaito had nothing better to do with his time. Kizzy needed to go somewhere, leaving Kaito to his own devices for the night.

“Sorry for startling you. I’m just not used to seeing you back here, of all places.” Koo seems to watch him quickly running each glass beneath the stream of water pouring from the tap before setting the glass in the dishwasher. “Do you want some help with this?”

Koo is normally gone by this hour, having returned home with Rocky to head to sleep for the evening, so Kaito is surprised to find him here, as well. Considering Rocky has been indisposed since his fight with Ranmaru— the trauma to his head means he needs to rest up, and it doesn’t help Jesse had taken quite a few shots at him prior to that fight— Kaito expects Koo to be out of Club Heaven as quickly as possible so he can tend to him. The two seem attached at the hip, at least as much as Kaito and Kizzy are attached.

Kaito turns a glass around in his hands a few times, undecided. It feels wrong to ask Koo to stay and help him if Rocky needs to be taken care of, after all. Rocky’s health should come first; it isn’t as though Kaito is in a rush to get back to his empty bed anytime soon.

“Rocky told me you were a quiet one but I suppose I didn’t take him as seriously as he obviously meant to be. I’ll help you, as it seems unfair to ask you to do this work.” Koo steps up next to him, directly into his personal space, though Kaito finds it not as unpleasant as usual. “Kizzy is gone for the weekend, isn’t she? Rocky sent her off.”

To this, Kaito nods. He is a bit fuzzy on the details, considering Kizzy explained this to him not long after the fight and Kaito was in enough serious pain to make his thoughts a little slower than usual, but he knows it has something to do with women that Rocky brought in from Doubt a few months ago, his concern for them quickly growing with Ranmaru roaming the streets again. This, Kaito can understand. Ranmaru would find them if given the chance.

Koo takes over rinsing the glasses with quick and sure movements, the white lights over the sink making his silver nail polish glitter exceptionally. He hands each glass to Kaito, waiting for him to safely set it in the dishwasher before picking up the next one. His gestures are so uniform and even that Kaito thinks he must have done this once, or perhaps the dishwasher is his responsibility at home. Either way, Koo doesn’t drop any of the glasses and by the time Kaito has the dishwasher closed and sets it to run, the time it would have taken is easily halved.

“Teamwork makes the dream work.” Koo’s lips quick up at the corners as he washes his hands, toweling them quickly dry. Kaito is slower at this, but he does notice when Koo steps up next to him again, fingers coming to touch the bottoms of his hair. “I love these waves on you.”

The compliment is a small one but Kaito’s breathing trips just the same, his shoulders hunching just a little, unused to this from Koo. Most of the attention from Rocky and Koo is directed at Kizzy, which makes perfect sense considering her magnetism, how she is all-encompassing; Kaito has been dizzily in love with her for years, after all, had been willing to just up and leave Doubt to follow her lead, trusting that she knew what was right for both of them. He would have followed her anyway, and truth be told, he loves seeing her showered in affection.

In contrast, Kaito is quiet, keeps to the background, lets Kizzy do the talking for him. He would let anyone do the talking for him if it meant he didn’t have to speak at all, to tell the truth, and he is content just to know Rocky and Koo care about him. He doesn’t need to be shown in a thousand small ways because he trusts their words and their intentions.

He wets his lips, unused to speaking, but he supposes he can’t let Koo carry on a one-sided conversation with himself. “Thanks,” he murmurs.

“I know Kizzy said she wanted to see what adding body to your hair might do for your face shape. I’m surprised at the drastic difference. Improving upon perfection is difficult.” Koo’s voice is soft, lofty, musing, and Kaito still whips his head around.

When he opens his mouth to speak, only a faint stutter comes out, his face burning before he just dips his head down, letting his hair hide his face. Koo’s laughter is soft; he brushes Kaito’s hair back, his lips finding Kaito’s forehead, soft and warm enough that Kaito feels a bit dizzy from the attention. He needs to be better used to this by now.

“Were you this shy with Kizzy? I suppose you must have been, but she’s very forward in her desires so I guess it doesn’t matter.” Koo slips his fingers beneath Kaito’s chin, his thumb slipping over Kaito’s lower lip. “It’s cute, you know. I hope it doesn’t upset you for me to say things like this, but I very much enjoy you as my sweet, shy boy.”

Kaito isn’t upset about the sentiment, even if his face heats up further, his cheeks hot enough he’s certain they must be about to catch on fire.  _ Shy _ isn’t what he usually thinks about himself, the way he trips up in speaking to the point he would rather never speak at all, the way he lets Kizzy lead, and follows as needed. If he comes off as shy to other people, well, that isn’t so bad to him. There are worse things, less endearing thoughts to have.

“S’okay,” he finally gets out, fingers knotting in the bottom of his shirt.

Koo hums softly but takes his hand back, and Kaito misses the touch. “Since Kizzy is gone, you would be spending the evening alone, correct? Or did you have something else lined up?”

“Nothing.” Kaito should have thought ahead, maybe planned to go check on one of the other gangs because if they are meant to make this pact work, it might not be a bad idea to be on better speaking terms with everyone. It would have saved him a lonely night, at least.

“I thought as much. I don’t like the idea of you being home alone, though. It’s quite upsetting to me because I know you’re not exactly a loner.” Koo’s eyes are intense once more and Kaito meets them uncertainly, not understanding quite what that gaze is saying to him. “My thought, then, is that I would like for you to come back to the home I share with Rocky.”

Kaito should have seen this coming, truth be told, because it makes sense for Koo to reach out to him. It’s in the man’s nature, and yet… “Rocky?”

“What about him? Oh, are you possibly asking me about his injuries and whether or not it would be a burden to have you in the house alongside his condition?” Koo’s voice is perfectly smooth and without inflection, though Kaito swears his dark eyes soften just the same. When Kaito nods, he smiles, though it seems a bit sad. “Rocky is fine for the most part now. He can take care of himself. I think it would be nice to have you over, might cheer him up.”

The prospect of an empty, cold bed back at his shared apartment with Kizzy is not an appetizing one, so though Kaito is still uncertain, he finds himself nodding just the same. “‘Kay.”

“Wonderful.” Koo holds out his hand and Kaito stares at it for just a moment before taking it, Koo’s fingers lacing neatly with his own. “It’ll be nice to have you around. Maybe you don’t realize this, but it’s nice to have you around.”

Kaito’s lips quirk at this and he ducks his head, following Koo out of the kitchen and out of the club proper. There are a few people finishing up their tasks and Koo thanks them all for their hard work; a few people do a double take, likely because of Kaito following him out, of their entwined hands. Though he and Kizzy have been discussing moving in with Rocky and Koo over the last few weeks, no one at the club seems to have put the pieces together yet.

This might give them something to talk about, then.

The motorcycle ride back to the home Koo and Rocky share is not a long one, which is nice because Kaito is tired, and the aspect of rest in an attractive one to him. Falling asleep in bed with two men that he loves, who love him in return, is much better than going home alone.

“Rocky is in bed already. I spoke to him on the phone a few hours ago to tell him goodnight, so we’ll have to be quiet.” Koo unlocks the door and pushes it open, standing back and looking up at Kaito. “Go on ahead, darling. I’ll follow you so I can properly lock up.”

_ Darling. _ Kaito makes a noise at that, scrubs a hand over his face before he slips off his jacket and shoes at the door. It only takes Koo a few seconds to lock up the front door and then he disappears, most likely to check the windows and the backdoor for maximum security though Kaito is sure Rocky would have done this already. He waits patiently in the living room until Koo returns, Koo favoring him with a soft smile.

Rocky is, in fact, already in bed when they step into the bedroom. They undress in silence, Koo tossing Kaito a t-shirt to sleep in, the material soft and worn thin from many washings. Still, Rocky must be on alert because he sits up in bed the moment Koo sets his handcuffs down on the dresser, holding the metal tightly so it doesn’t clink.

“Oh, it’s you.” Rocky scrubs sleep out of his eyes and leans back against the pillows, his eyes drifting to Kaito slowly, lazily. “Kaito, you staying the night with us?”

“Kizzy’s gone, so I thought he’d rather be here than alone,” Koo explains.

Kaito nods in agreement and his chest feels funny when Rocky smiles, soft and lopsided, and sits up in bed, holding out a hand to him. Koo’s hand touches the small of his back briefly, urging him forward, so Kaito climbs up onto the large bed and takes Rocky’s hand, lets the older man draw him in close, fingers running through Kaito’s long hair to hold it back out of his face.

“Good to have you here,” he says, and his voice is low, throaty. “Care if I steal a goodnight kiss?”

“It’s okay,” Kaito whispers, and hopes his voice is loud enough for Rocky to hear.

Rocky kisses him softly, a hand cupped around the back of his neck, fingers tangled in his hair. Koo kisses him as well once he comes to bed and even though Kaito normally sleeps on the edge of the bed, spooned up behind Kizzy, he ends up between the two of them, Rocky’s chest against his back, Koo’s forehead against his own. Koo’s fingers run through his hair slowly, massaging his scalp until Kaito’s eyelids feel heavy. When Koo kisses him on the forehead, he only feels a little shy about that contact. He’s getting better at this.

“Thank you for spending the night with us,” Koo says, and Kaito wants to tell him that he’s the one who ought to be thanking Koo for extending the invitation when he would have been alone otherwise. “We’re very happy to have you here with us, and I hope you don’t forget that.”

Kaito tucks his face against the front of Koo’s throat, sighing softly when Koo kisses the top of his head before settling down. He feels so warm, and safe, and loved.


End file.
